UC SANTA BARBARA OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Nov. 6, 2007

• The Schedule
Thursday, Nov. 8, 2007
Match No. 26: UC Santa Barbara at No. 22 Cal Poly, 7 p.m.
at Mott Gym (3,032)

Saturday, Nov. 10, 2007
Match No. 27: UC Santa Barbara at UC Irvine, 7 p.m.
at Crawford Court (1,400)

• What's Ahead
After splitting a pair of matches on the road last week, the UC Santa Barbara women's volleyball team will continue Big West Conference action this week with a match at No. 22 Cal Poly on Thursday, Nov. 8 followed by a match at UC Irvine on Saturday, Nov. 10. Both pairings are scheduled for a 7 p.m. first serve. As always, all conference matches can be watched on BigWest.tv and Saturday's match against the Anteaters can be followed on Gametracker, which you can find on the women's volleyball schedule page at ucsbgauchos.com.

• For The Record
Santa Barbara now holds an overall record to 10-15 and a 5-7 mark in the Big West. With their win over Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, the Gauchos have now won their last three conference match-ups. Historically, UCSB has never finished a season below .500 and has never posted a Big West record below .500. In fact, the Gauchos have only finished three seasons with fewer than 20-wins. In order for the Gauchos to finish at .500 this season, they will need to win six of their seven remaining matches. The Gauchos also need six more victories in order for UCSB head coach Kathy Gregory to pick up her 800th career win. As UCSB stands now, it is unlikely that the team will make a 27th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. Santa Barbara is one of only three programs (along with Penn State and Stanford) that has participated in every tournament since its inception in 1981. The NCAA released the mid-season Division I women's volleyball Ratings Percentage Index on Oct. 12 and the Gauchos ranked 143rd. The RPI helps the NCAA selection committee determine which teams, outside of those that earn automatic berths via conference championships, will make the 64-team field.

• Gauchos Split A Pair Of Road Matches
Coming off of their first pair of home wins two weeks ago, UCSB hit the road last week for a non-conference match against Pepperdine on Tuesday, Oct. 30, which it followed up with its second match of the season against Cal State Fullerton. The Gauchos struggled against Pepperdine, falling 30-27, 30-25, 30-20 to the Waves. UCSB was able to rebound from the loss and post a 30-24, 34-32, 26-30, 30-28 win over Cal State Fullerton, avenging a 3-2 loss to the Titans on Oct. 6.

• Around The Conference
With two weeks remaining in Big West action, the defending champion, No. 22 Cal Poly, remains atop the conference leaderboard with an 11-1 record. The nationally-ranked Mustangs are followed by Long Beach State, which owns an 11-2 mark, and third-place UC Irvine at 9-3. Cal State Northridge currently has a hold on fifth-place with its 6-7 record while Cal State Fullerton and UCSB are tied for sixth at 5-7. UC Riverside (2-10) and UC Davis (0-13) round out the conference standings.

• McLaughlin Matters
Junior Lauren McLaughlin continues to lead the Gauchos with her 4.39 kills per game average, which ranks fourth in the Big West. The Torrance, Calif. native led the Gauchos for points during last week's contest against Cal State Fullerton with 22 kills, 16 digs and five block assists. The double-double marked her 17th of the season. The outside hitter is just 50 kills away from reaching 1,000 career kills. McLaughlin is currently averaging 3.15 digs per game, good for second amongst the Gauchos. The junior, who earned the inaugural Big West Player of the Week honor of the 2007 season on Aug. 27, has been named to all-tournament teams on three occasions this year.

• A Quick Look At Quirarte
Two-time All-Big West First Team selection Brett Quirarte continues to lead UCSB with her .326 season clip, which is also the fifth highest amongst Big West players. The Long Beach, Calif. native had a team-leading 14 kills in the loss to Pepperdine. Against Fullerton she posted 12 kills and just one error. For the week, she hit .368 and tallied nine total blocks. The middle blocker currently leads the team with her 1.12 blocks per game. Quirarte currently ranks eighth in the UCSB record books for block assists (269) and tenth for total blocks (318).

• Leigh-bero
Junior libero Leigh Stephenson, who currently ranks second in the Big West for digs per game, is currently averaging 5.21 scoops. During Friday's match against Cal State Fullerton, Stephenson recorded a career-high 31 digs, marking the second time this season she has posted 30 or more scoops. On Tuesday, she had posted 18 digs against Pepperdine. Stephenson has recorded a .950 reception percentage and has surpassed 20 digs on 13 occasions this season.

• Becca Banter
Rebecca Saraceno continues to lead the Gauchos for aces per game with an average of 0.29 and is second on the team with 3.27 kills per game. The Redondo Beach, Calif. native was one of only two Gauchos to post double-digit kills against Pepperdine on Tuesday. In the following match against the Titans, Saraceno posted her 13th double-double of the year with 16 kills and 11 digs. She is third on the team with 2.45 digs per game.

• The View On Vargas
Freshman setter Dana Vargas is currently averaging 11.31 assists per game and ranks fifth amongst Big West setters. Additionally, she has posted a .398 clip with 0.59 kills per game and 2.12 digs per game. Vargas posted 49 assists and 16 digs in the match against Fullerton to tally her ninth double-double of the season. Earlier this season, she picked up the first honor of her collegiate career with an all-tournament nod at the USD Invitational.

• Smith Steps-Up
Senior Lauren Smith has been a great help to the Gauchos in the middle over the last few weeks, chipping in key kills and blocks. Last Friday, Smith tied her career-high with eight kills against the Titans, she hit .583 in the match (8k, 1e, 12a) and also posted four block assists. Against Pepperdine on Tuesday, she tallied a career-best five assisted blocks. She is currently hitting .412 on the season.

• Also Chipping In...
Freshman Kasey Kipp contributed a career-high 10 kills along with nine blocks in the Gauchos' 3-1 win over Fullerton. For the weekend she had 14 total blocks. Kipp is currently averaging 1.04 blocks per game, good for second on the team. Freshman setter Jessica Welch contributed 11 assists and eight digs against the Titans. Freshman Charlene DeHoog hit a solid .417 on Friday with six kills.

• Gregory Confidential
Kathy Gregory is the only coach UCSB women's volleyball has ever known, guiding the program to a 794-343 (.698) record since accepting the reigns of the team in 1975. In her 33 years at the helm - the longest tenure in the history of Gaucho Athletics - "The Queen" has guided Santa Barbara to 20 or more victories 26 times, while her teams have finished the season ranked amongst the nation's top-25 on 28 occasions. She can boast five NCAA Sweet 16 appearances in the past ten years (including three Elite Eights) as well as National Coach of the Year honors in 1993. Gregory, a member of the Volleyball Hall of Fame and currently the sixth-winningest coach in the Division I ranks, has also earned Big West Coach of the Year acclaim in four of the last five seasons. Gregory is currently just six wins away from her 800th career victory and is one of only seven coaches in NCAA history to surpass the 700-win career mark.

• Taming The Mustangs
No. 22 Cal Poly, which has won 12 of its last 13 matches, enters this week with a 17-7 overall record and an 11-1 Big West mark. Thursday will mark the second match-up of the season between the Central Coast rivals, the Mustangs took the first 27-30, 30-28, 30-23, 30-26. Kylie Atherstone leads the Mustangs and the conference with her 4.67 kills per game. Setter Chelsea Hayes averages 12.27 assists per game while libero Kristen Jackson averages 5.17 digs. Middle blocker Jacalyn Houston leads the Big West with her 1.52 blocks per game and is second with her .366 clip. UCSB leads the series with Cal Poly, 39-19, but has lost the last three pairings.

• About The Anteaters
UC Irvine enters this weekend's action with a 19-8 overall record and a 9-3 mark in Big West matches. The Anteaters have won their last three conference matches and most recently posted wins over UC Davis and Pacific last weekend. Chelsea Ellis leads the team with her .360 clip while Lauren Kellerman has a team-best 3.88 kills per game. Taryn Robertson averages 12.12 assists per game and Devon Sutherland averages 4.59 digs. Saturday's pairing will mark the first match-up with the Anteaters this season. The Gauchos lead the all-time series with the UC Irvine, 60-5 but lost the last match-up on Oct. 27, 2006 in five games.

• Coming Soon
The Gauchos will finish Big West action next week when they host their last two home matches of the season. UCSB will face UC Irvine on Friday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. in the Thunderdome. The following night, the Gauchos will play UC Riverside at the same time and place.